The New Forces spring update is now available. Five new tapes from Wince, Striations, Mass Marriage, Celluloid Murder, and Personage 77, along with Kjostad shirts and other leftover items from my recent tour.

Mass Marriage - Secrets"Secrets" is the latest from Vancouver artist Melissa Paget. These tracks perfectly embody what sets Mass Marriage apart - namely a tense, minimal power-electronics that is one of the few that can legitimately claim to evoke the great Atrax Morgue, combined with the sort of heaviness associated with Vancouver harsh noise acts like The Rita or Rusalka. Darkly emotional, foreboding, and desperate music, accompanied by a vocal performance that will stay with you long after the song finishes. "Secrets" is a powerful statement, one that will follow you around, refusing to let go.

Personage 77 - Cock MuseumBuilding on their recent debut release, Personage 77 continues to explore the convergences of harsh noise, anti-music, and intense physical performance on "Cock Museum." The most primitive and physical tools are smashed together, overloading recording devices as objects and bodies collide and writhe around on the floor, blood vessels imploding as vocal cords are pushed to the limit. Not sure whether this is the high-concept sound art, or the audio equivalent of a caveman smashing his own skull with a rock. Perhaps a bit of both. Sure to appeal to fans of the New Blockaders and Hanatarash.

Striations - VietnamizationIntense musical examination of the Vietnam War, and a definitive statement from one of the leaders of contemporary power-electronics. These tracks are not a shallow thematic gesture to the Vietnam War. Rather, they attempt to evoke the atmosphere, dirt, violence, fear, shame, pride, failure, and triumph of one of history's ugliest wars. Attempts to approach the feeling of that conflict from someone who never fought in it, yet has immersed themselves in the history, art, and media depicting the war. Nearly sixty minutes, 18 songs, and a host of collaborators, including members of Koufar, Terror Cell Unit, Private Archive, Worth, Breaking the Will, and Interracial Sex. Sure to go down as one of the strongest industrial statements of 2018. The tape is accompanied by a massive virtual compendium compiled by the artist, accessed here: http://striations-vavc.blogspot.com/

Celluloid Murder ‎– Celluloid Murder's Magnificent GardenJapanese harsh noise for the true freaks. Emerging from a scene defined by older legends like The Incapacitants and Merzbow, a handful of new Japanese noise artists have pushed their way to the forefront to assert their relevance. Celluloid Murder is part of this movement, treading new ground by combining wild and uninhibited harsh noise with bizarre sound collage and musique concrète. The results are disorienting and intense. Nearly an hour of music that will challenge, excite, and confuse. Hail new Japan!

Wince - Bullets For German RadioOne of a handful of artists that truly stand out in contemporary harsh noise. Known for releases on Hospital Productions, Freak Animal, Skeleton Dust, and his own White Centipede Noise imprint, Wince channels the spirit of crude and powerful Americanoise, adding his own trademark layers of filth, grit, and static. A blend of sexual energy and cultural disdain, "Bullets for German Radio" bludgeons the listener into submission, replacing the vapid with the violent.